Press Release

Illinois Humanities Council Awards $37,200 in Grants; Next Cycle Ends Soon

CHICAGO, IL- September 12, 2012—The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) Board of Directors has awarded a total of $37,200 to ten nonprofit organizations across Illinois for development and production of public humanities projects. Community support for these projects totaled $687,405. The grantees are: 

  • Far Horizons Short Feature– 137 Films ($5,000) Funding to support the production of a short feature, in conjunction with the Adler Planetarium, detailing the efforts of Chicago-area youth to explore space and  ask fundamental questions about what it means to imagine the universe beyond our immediate understandings. 
  • Our Greatest Treasure: Our Stories– Empire Township Historical Museum (ETHM) ($5,000) Funding to support a series of oral histories focusing on community members in Leroy, Illinois, for use in their exhibits and a theater presentation with Illinois State University.  
  • Creative Writing School Residencies Program– Young Chicago Authors ($5,000) Funding to support creative writing residencies at eight Chicago Public Schools, with the purpose to create after-school poetry clubs where the students will explore contemporary poets and hip hop lyricists.     
  • Architects of Jazz: The Sutherland Lounge Exhibit – Chicago Blues Museum ($2,500) Funding for a series of programs on occasion of the reopening of the Sutherland Lounge, a historic jazz venue in the South Side of Chicago. 
  • Neighborhood Rhythms– Neighborhood Writing Alliance ($5,000) Funding for series of programs that will examine the role of music in shaping individual and shared histories, cultural underpinnings of music in narrating social movements and events, and the impact of music on the body.    
  • Take a Child Outside Community Forum– Forest Preserve Friends Foundation ($5,000) Funding to support a community dialogue in Champaign County on how youth are cut-off from the natural world, and the risk factors in health and creativity caused this may cause.
  • Fox Valley Reads 2012– Aurora Public Library Foundation ($3,000) Funding to support a series of activities related to the 2012 edition of the Fox Valley Reads program.
  • Now is the Time: “How Long will I Cry?”– Steppenwolf Theatre Company ($2,350) Funding to support a series of free public performances and teen workshops to coincide with a theatrical production about the recent rise in Chicago homicides. 
  • Neighborhood Voices– Chicago Architecture Foundation ($2,350) Funding to support a community engagement and outreach program that will help identify and explore the spaces and places that tell the stories of ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago.  
  • 826CHI General Support– 826CHI ($2,000) Funding to support instructional staff in writing and literary tutoring and programming for youth, ages 6-18 in Chicago.  

The IHC invites nonprofit organizations to apply for its next cycle of grant awards by October 15, 2012. Any nonprofit group, organization, or institution is eligible to apply for financial support from the lHC. The IHC funds public projects in the humanities, including documentary films, local and community history projects, literary symposia, and oral history projects. Nonprofits with annual budgets of $250,000 or less can apply for technical assistance grants, and nonprofits with a primary focus on the humanities can apply for general support grants. 

Potential applicants may review and download grant applications and guidelines by visiting www.prairie.org/grants. Please call 312.422.5580 or send an email to ihc@prairie.org. IHC program officers are available for consultation, and new applicants are encouraged to contact program officers for grant advice. 

The IHC makes it a priority to fund projects developed by, for, or aimed at reaching new or historically neglected audiences. The IHC also encourages applications for projects about American history and culture.

For more information about the IHC or the grants program, please call 312.422.5580 or visit www.prairie.org. 

About the Illinois Humanities Council

The Illinois Humanities Council is an independent, nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. The IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic location. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.  

Media Contact:
Carlos Velázquez
(312) 422-5580, x233
cav@prairie.org

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